Philippians 1

Greeting

¹From Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus.

To Theos’s people in the city of Philippi and their bishops and deacons—to everyone who is united with Christ Jesus.

²Good will (Or “Grace.”) and peace from Theos our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ are yours!

Paul’s Prayer for the Philippians

³I thank my Theos for all the memories I have of you. ⁴Every time I pray for all of you, I do it with joy. ⁵I can do this because of the partnership we’ve had with you in the Good News from the first day ⌞you believed⌟ until now. ⁶I’m convinced that Theos, who began this good work in you, will carry it through to completion on the day of Christ Jesus. ⁷You have a special place in my heart. So it’s right for me to think this way about all of you. All of you are my partners. Together we share Theos’s favor, (Or “grace.”) whether I’m in prison or defending and confirming the truth of the Good News. ⁸Theos is my witness that, with all the compassion of Christ Jesus, I long ⌞to see⌟ every one of you.

⁹I pray that your love will keep on growing because of your knowledge and insight. ¹⁰That way you will be able to determine what is best and be pure and blameless until the day of Christ. ¹¹Jesus Christ will fill your lives with everything that Theos’s approval produces. Your lives will then bring glory and praise to Theos.

Nothing Matters Except That People Are Told about Christ

¹²I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that what happened to me has helped to spread the Good News. ¹³As a result, it has become clear to all the soldiers who guard the emperor and to everyone else that I am in prison because of Christ. ¹⁴So through my being in prison, the Lord has given most of our brothers and sisters confidence to speak Theos’s word more boldly and fearlessly than ever.

¹⁵Some people tell the message about Christ because of their jealousy and envy. Others tell the message about him because of their good will. ¹⁶Those who tell the message about Christ out of love know that Theos has put me here to defend the Good News. ¹⁷But the others are insincere. They tell the message about Christ out of selfish ambition in order to stir up trouble for me while I’m in prison. ¹⁸But what does it matter? Nothing matters except that, in one way or another, people are told the message about Christ, whether with honest or dishonest motives, and I’m happy about that.

Paul Honors Christ Whether He Lives or Dies

Yes, I will continue to be happy ¹⁹for another reason. I know that I will be set free through your prayers and through the help that comes from the Spirit (pneuma) of Jesus Christ. ²⁰I eagerly expect and hope that I will have nothing to be ashamed of. I will speak very boldly and honor Christ in my body, now as always, whether I live or die. ²¹Christ means everything to me in this life, and when I die I’ll have even more. ²²If I continue to live in this life, my work will produce more results. I don’t know which I would prefer. ²³I find it hard to choose between the two. I would like to leave this life and be with Christ. That’s by far the better choice. ²⁴But for your sake it’s better that I remain in this life. ²⁵Since I’m convinced of this, I know that I will continue to live and be with all of you. This will help you to grow and be joyful in your faith. ²⁶So by coming to you again, I want to give you even more reason to have pride in Christ Jesus with me.

Fighting for the Faith

²⁷Live as citizens who reflect the Good News about Christ. Then, whether I come to see you or whether I stay away, I’ll hear all about you. I’ll hear that you are firmly united in spirit (pneuma), united in fighting for the faith that the Good News brings. ²⁸So don’t let your opponents intimidate you in any way. This is Theos’s way of showing them that they will be destroyed and that you will be saved. ²⁹Theos has given you the privilege not only to believe in Christ but also to suffer for him. ³⁰You are involved in the same struggle that you saw me having. Now you hear that I’m still involved in it.

Philippians 2

Have the Same Attitude as Christ

¹So then, as Christians, do you have any encouragement? Do you have any comfort from love? Do you have any spiritual relationships? Do you have any sympathy and compassion? ²Then fill me with joy by having the same attitude and the same love, living in harmony, and keeping one purpose in mind. ³Don’t act out of selfish ambition or be conceited. Instead, humbly think of others as being better than yourselves. ⁴Don’t be concerned only about your own interests, but also be concerned about the interests of others. ⁵Have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.

6 Although he was in the form of Theos and equal with Theos,
he did not take advantage of this equality.
7 Instead, he emptied himself by taking on the form of a servant,
by becoming like other humans,
by having a human appearance.
8 He humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death,
death on a cross.
9 This is why Theos has given him an exceptional honor—
the name honored above all other names—
10 so that at the name of Jesus everyone in heaven, on earth,
and in the world below will kneel
11 and confess that Jesus Christ is Lord
to the glory of Theos the Father.

¹²My dear friends, you have always obeyed, not only when I was with you but even more now that I’m absent. In the same way continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling. ¹³It is Theos who produces in you the desires and actions that please him.

¹⁴Do everything without complaining or arguing. ¹⁵Then you will be blameless and innocent. You will be Theos’s children without any faults among people who are crooked and corrupt. You will shine like stars among them in the world ¹⁶as you hold firmly to the word of life. Then I can brag on the day of Christ that my effort was not wasted and that my work produced results. ¹⁷My life is being poured out as a part of the sacrifice and service ⌞I offer to Theos⌟ for your faith. Yet, I am filled with joy, and I share that joy with all of you. ¹⁸For this same reason you also should be filled with joy and share that joy with me.

Paul Will Send Timothy and Epaphroditus

¹⁹I hope that the Lord Jesus will allow me to send Timothy to you soon so that I can receive some encouraging news about you. ²⁰I don’t have anyone else like Timothy. He takes a genuine interest in your welfare. ²¹Everyone else looks after his own interests, not after those of Jesus Christ. ²²But you know what kind of person Timothy proved to be. Like a father and son we worked hard together to spread the Good News. ²³I hope to send him as soon as I see how things are going to turn out for me. ²⁴But the Lord gives me confidence that I will come ⌞to visit you⌟ soon.

²⁵I feel that I must send Epaphroditus—my brother, coworker, and fellow soldier—back to you. You sent him as your personal representative to help me in my need. ²⁶He has been longing to see all of you and is troubled because you heard that he was sick. ²⁷Indeed, he was so sick that he almost died. But Theos had mercy not only on him but also on me and kept me from having one sorrow on top of another. ²⁸So I’m especially eager to send him to you. In this way you will have the joy of seeing him again and I will feel relieved. ²⁹Give him a joyful Christian welcome. Make sure you honor people like Epaphroditus highly. ³⁰He risked his life and almost died for the work of Christ in order to make up for the help you couldn’t give me.

Philippians 3

Run Straight toward the Goal

¹Now then, brothers and sisters, be joyful in the Lord. It’s no trouble for me to write the same things to you, and it’s for your safety. ²Beware of dogs! Beware of those who do evil things. Beware of those who insist on circumcision. ³We are the ⌞true⌟ circumcised people ⌞of Theos⌟ because we serve Theos’s Spirit (pneuma) and take pride in Christ Jesus. We don’t place any confidence in physical things, ⁴although I could have confidence in my physical qualifications. If anyone else thinks that he can trust in something physical, I can claim even more. ⁵I was circumcised on the eighth day. I’m a descendant of Israel. I’m from the tribe of Benjamin. I’m a pure-blooded Hebrew. When it comes to following Jewish laws, I was a Pharisee. ⁶When it comes to being enthusiastic, I was a persecutor of the church. When it comes to winning Theos’s approval by obeying Jewish laws, I was perfect.

⁷These things that I once considered valuable, I now consider worthless for Christ. ⁸It’s far more than that! I consider everything else worthless because I’m much better off knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. It’s because of him that I think of everything as worthless. I threw it all away in order to gain Christ ⁹and to have a relationship with him. This means that I didn’t receive Theos’s approval by obeying his laws. The opposite is true! I have Theos’s approval through faith in Christ. This is the approval that comes from Theos and is based on faith ¹⁰that knows Christ. Faith knows the power that his coming back to life gives and what it means to share his suffering. In this way I’m becoming like him in his death, ¹¹with the confidence that I’ll come back to life from the dead.

¹²It’s not that I’ve already reached the goal or have already completed the course. But I run to win that which Jesus Christ has already won for me. ¹³Brothers and sisters, I can’t consider myself a winner yet. This is what I do: I don’t look back, I lengthen my stride, and ¹⁴I run straight toward the goal to win the prize that Theos’s heavenly call offers in Christ Jesus.

¹⁵Whoever has a mature faith should think this way. And if you think differently, Theos will show you how to think. ¹⁶However, we should be guided by what we have learned so far.

Imitate Me

¹⁷Brothers and sisters, imitate me, and pay attention to those who live by the example we have given you. ¹⁸I have often told you, and now tell you with tears in my eyes, that many live as the enemies of the cross of Christ. ¹⁹In the end they will be destroyed. Their own emotions are their theos, and they take pride in the shameful things they do. Their minds are set on worldly things. ²⁰We, however, are citizens of heaven. We look forward to the Lord Jesus Christ coming from heaven as our Savior. ²¹Through his power to bring everything under his authority, he will change our humble bodies and make them like his glorified body.

Philippians 4

Paul’s Advice

¹So, brothers and sisters, I love you and miss you. You are my joy and my crown. Therefore, dear friends, keep your relationship with the Lord firm!

²I encourage both Euodia and Syntyche to have the attitude the Lord wants them to have. ³Yes, I also ask you, Syzugus, my true partner, to help these women. They fought beside me to spread the Good News along with Clement and the rest of my coworkers, whose names are in the Book of Life.

Always Be Joyful

⁴Always be joyful in the Lord! I’ll say it again: Be joyful! ⁵Let everyone know how considerate you are. The Lord is near. ⁶Never worry about anything. But in every situation let Theos know what you need in prayers and requests while giving thanks. ⁷Then Theos’s peace, which goes beyond anything we can imagine, will guard your thoughts and emotions through Christ Jesus.

⁸Finally, brothers and sisters, keep your thoughts on whatever is right or deserves praise: things that are true, honorable, fair, pure, acceptable, or commendable. ⁹Practice what you’ve learned and received from me, what you heard and saw me do. Then the Theos who gives this peace will be with you.

Thanks for Your Gifts

¹⁰The Lord has filled me with joy because you again showed interest in me. You were interested but did not have an opportunity to show it. ¹¹I’m not saying this because I’m in any need. I’ve learned to be content in whatever situation I’m in. ¹²I know how to live in poverty or prosperity. No matter what the situation, I’ve learned the secret of how to live when I’m full or when I’m hungry, when I have too much or when I have too little. ¹³I can do everything through Christ who strengthens me. ¹⁴Nevertheless, it was kind of you to share my troubles.

¹⁵You Philippians also know that in the early days, when I left the province of Macedonia to spread the Good News, you were the only church to share your money with me. You gave me what I needed, and you received what I gave you. ¹⁶Even while I was in Thessalonica, you provided for my needs twice. ¹⁷It’s not that I’m looking for a gift. The opposite is true. I’m looking for your resources to increase. ¹⁸You have paid me in full, and I have more than enough. Now that Epaphroditus has brought me your gifts, you have filled my needs. Your gifts are a soothing aroma, a sacrifice that Theos accepts and with which he is pleased. ¹⁹My Theos will richly fill your every need in a glorious way through Christ Jesus. ²⁰Glory belongs to our Theos and Father forever! Amen.

²¹Greet everyone who believes in Christ Jesus. The brothers and sisters who are with me send greetings to you. ²²All Theos’s people here, especially those in the emperor’s palace, greet you. ²³May the good will (Or “grace.”) of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.